Cecilia Wikström,rapporteur.– Mr President, I have had the privilege of being your rapporteur on the Trademarks Package since the spring of 2012. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all colleagues and their staff, both in Parliament and the Commission. I would also like to warmly thank the many Presidencies that have worked on this dossier, and perhaps most importantly the Italian and the Latvian Presidencies, which provided excellent work in the most critical stages of the negotiations.

I would like to draw your attention to the achievements on this file. The reforms agreed in trialogues will ensure that companies in Europe have faster and cheaper access to trademarks, both at national and European levels, without compromising on the quality of the decisions. Administrative procedures have been streamlined according to best practices, and we will see an increased harmonisation of the national systems along the lines of best practices. On substantive trademark law, we have modernised a number of provisions in view of technological developments. We have also managed to include important safeguards to protect freedom of expression by limiting the possibility of rightholders to bring legal actions against people using trademarks for reasons, for example, of parody or artistic expression. For this, I would like to thank an old colleague from Sweden who was with us but who is not any more. He drew our attention to this.

Some of you might have received letters during the week from NGOs expressing concerns on the issue of transit of generic medicines to developing countries. I would very much like to underline the position and the fact: I can assure everyone that there will in no case be any problems for the transit of generic medicines to developing countries as a result of this legislation. Throughout my life I have fought for development, and I would never, ever allow a law bearing my name to hinder people in developing countries from getting access to medicines. That is for sure. The ambition has been shared by the entire Parliament negotiating team. We have been united in this, and together we managed to include very strong safeguards. It should also be noted that the problems that have occurred in past times with regard to the transit of medicines have exclusively related to patents, and not trademarks.

I am proud today of the balance that we have achieved between fighting organised crime and the dangerous trafficking of counterfeit products, and protecting the interests of legitimate trade. I would like to stress that there is no risk of confusion between generic medicines and counterfeit, fake medicines. Any holder of a European trademark trying to incorrectly stop goods in transit which are not breaching the rights is also liable for damages in accordance with the EU customs regulations. These rules will give our customs officers the right to seize counterfeit fake products transiting through Europe.

Now, in Europe, we will be able to help developing countries in an important struggle against organised crime, which preys on the most vulnerable of us. This is something that we are all united in.

I will come back later, but I look forward to the debate on this item.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska,Member of the Commission.– Mr President, firstly I would like to warmly thank the Committee on Legal Affairs and congratulate the rapporteur, Cecilia Wikström, for the excellent and successful work on the trade mark reform package. Both this work and the very constructive spirit that I observed in the negotiations facilitated reaching an agreement after more than two years of complex discussions.

Regardless of its apparently technical character, the trade mark reform package constitutes a key element for the EU’s competitiveness and innovation strategy. The reform package will foster innovation and growth by making the trade mark registration system all over the EU more accessible and efficient for businesses, whether in terms of lower cost, increased speed, more predictability or legal certainty. The clear benefits of the compromise package are there for all to see. The package marks a significant step in both the modernisation and the further harmonisation of the trade mark system in Europe.

Allow me now to highlight just a few of these benefits. Firstly, the agreed fee reductions at European Union level will lead to savings of up to almost 40%, in particular for businesses that seek protection of the registered EU trademarks beyond an initial period of ten years.

Secondly, the reform of the directive will ensure more streamlined, efficient and harmonised registration procedures across all trademark offices in the European Union. Faster and less burdensome procedures will constitute a great improvement for growing companies, mainly SMEs, which roll out their business beyond one Member State and are seeking trade mark protection. The arrangements for common application requirements and the future availability of administrative opposition and cancellation procedures at national level are a good illustration of this.

Thirdly, trade mark owners in the EU will have better tools to fight against counterfeit goods, in particular when these illegal imitations are in transit through the EU’s territory. This will help prevent abuse of the Union and its transit routes in its role as a central hub for the worldwide distribution of such goods. At the same time there will be appropriate safeguards in the interest of legitimate trade.

And fourthly, the reform will bring modernised rules and increased legal certainty by adapting trade mark rules to the modern business environment and clarifying trade mark rights and their limitations.

In relation to the regulation regarding the procedure of preselection and appointment of an executive director of the Agency in Alicante that is responsible for administering the EU trade mark system, it has to be stressed from the Commission’s point of view that the final text is not aligned with the principles of the EU’s interinstitutional common approach on decentralised agencies. Notwithstanding this shortcoming and also the fact that key elements of the Commission’s proposals concerning the budget were not retained, the final text of the regulation will nevertheless bring about major improvements in the governance and accountability of the Agency.

Thus, considering the overall compromise that has been achieved, the Commission welcomes very much and endorses the agreed compromise package.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska,Member of the Commission.– Mr President, honourable Members, I have listened carefully to your remarks and to your interventions. I would like to thank all of you for your contribution to this debate. In closing, let me stress a few key points.

Firstly, it has to be noted that trade-mark-intensive industries contribute enormously to economic performance and employment in the EU. The agreed reform would lead to a modernised, more efficient legal framework. This will promote entrepreneurship and competitiveness; which is certainly good for Europe.

We will also be better equipped to fight against counterfeiting. This is essential to help reduce its detrimental effect on health, on safety and of course on innovation and growth. Let me at this point also stress, and it is important to note, that the agreed compromise concerns trade marks only. It does not have any connection with patents or legal generic medicines. Nevertheless, the agreed package provides for appropriate safeguards to guarantee the smooth transit of generic medicines across the Union. Some of you referred to this.

I therefore commend this package to the European Parliament and I ask you for your strong support for this. This will send a very clear signal in terms of the EU’s ability to reform in economically significant areas whilst boosting innovation and growth.

Cecilia Wikström,rapporteur.– Mr President, let me finally mention a few issues related to the governance and finance issues. Parliament has managed a number of important victories here as well; transparency has been increased in all areas of the agency, and Parliament will have a full seat on the board of the agency. The agency, previously known as the Office for the Harmonisation of the Internal Market, or OHIM, will change its name to the European Intellectual Property Office (EU IPO).

We have succeeded in lowering the fees as much as possible without interfering with the national systems, and will increase the funding dedicated to cooperation projects between the EU agency and national agencies, which will lead to soft harmonisation as well as capacity-building in the national offices.

All in all, this is a very large and complex dossier that will now come to an end and, as I have said many times throughout these years: this is not a revolution, it is a modernisation which was needed on the existing EU trade mark system.

I am convinced that this dossier will lead to the aim that we all share; namely to foster growth and prosperity for Europe, so badly needed these days. I trust that colleagues will support the agreement that we have reached and I thank you all again for your support and for very fruitful, and sometimes quite lively, work and discussions on this dossier. I wish you all the best.